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Jeff Legwold joins Kreckman and Lindahl 10-2-26 · Jeff Legwold ESPN Broncos Reports

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  Speaker 1: Every Bud Light Football Friday, we talk to Jeff Legwald
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  Speaker 1: here on the Kreckman and Lindahl Show. And we get
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  Speaker 1: you all set for the Bronco weekend. That will be
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  Speaker 1: Denver at San Francisco on Sunday afternoon. Jeff Legwald of
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  Speaker 1: ESPN is with us as he always is. Jeff, I
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  Speaker 1: choose to begin this interview by asking a question posed
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  Speaker 1: in a headline story. written by Jeff Legwald on ESPN.com. Jeff,
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  Speaker 1: I ask you, can the Broncos keep pulling off unlikely
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  Speaker 1: comeback victories?
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  Speaker 2: Well, they certainly keep providing more information on their side
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  Speaker 2: of the equation at the moment than the, this can't
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  Speaker 2: work over the long haul. And I think, you know,
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  Speaker 2: they are the analytical outlier for, and all of this,
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  Speaker 2: you know, Sunday was the 13th one score win the
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  Speaker 2: team has had since the start of last season. And that,
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  Speaker 2: that is just a ridiculous number in any way you
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  Speaker 2: frame it. And, you know, everybody I know in the
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  Speaker 2: league who has any sort of part in an analytical
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  Speaker 2: department will always talk about regression to the mean and,
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  Speaker 2: you know, all of, all of these things. And, in
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  Speaker 2: terms of comeback wins and one score victories, they haven't
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  Speaker 2: hit the wall yet. But I think the head coach
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  Speaker 2: certainly is, you know, he always has a hint of
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  Speaker 2: pessimism anyway, but I think he would rather not walk
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  Speaker 2: the tightrope so often. But I think if they somehow
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  Speaker 2: find a way to keep the defense playing On the
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  Speaker 2: key downs, the way they played, you know, in the
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  Speaker 2: second half of these games that they've won, and Bo
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  Speaker 2: Nix can sort of be the guy who steers the
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  Speaker 2: car just well enough at the end, it is a
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  Speaker 2: formula right now, and it is working. And I think
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  Speaker 2: there is something to be said. You know, however many
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  Speaker 2: points it's worth, they truly believe they can function well
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  Speaker 2: in that environment. And I think that's the real tangible
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  Speaker 2: bonus and all this that I've been around a lot
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  Speaker 2: of teams that wondered how they would do, you know,
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  Speaker 2: when the pressure was on and they wondered how they
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  Speaker 2: would do if they were down to the last down,
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  Speaker 2: you know, in, in the game. And this team doesn't
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  Speaker 2: wonder they know, and that can be a little bit
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  Speaker 2: of a powerful advantage.
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  Speaker 3: Well, there's no doubt about it, Jeff. Here's the thing.
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  Speaker 3: I keep relating to the mid-80s Broncos because that's just
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  Speaker 3: what a lot of this feels like at times with
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  Speaker 3: the magical comebacks and all this. But you also know
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  Speaker 3: in the Super Bowls or in some of the bigger games,
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  Speaker 3: all of a sudden you don't keep the game in check.
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  Speaker 3: You don't keep everybody in distance. You don't keep them
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  Speaker 3: in a space and they reel them in. And I
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  Speaker 3: guess that's what everybody's worried about. And also, you know,
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  Speaker 3: we always ask you every week, can you explain why
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  Speaker 3: it looks one way in the first half and another
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  Speaker 3: way in the second? You keep pointing to the run game.
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  Speaker 3: Nate has talked about how bad this Niners run defense
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  Speaker 3: has been, at least by the numbers. Is this the
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  Speaker 3: true test this week where if they don't get it
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  Speaker 3: figured out, we should be concerned?
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  Speaker 2: Well, I always think that. I think they're willing to
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  Speaker 2: be more true to the team they are when the
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  Speaker 2: heat's on. You know, it's easy at the beginning of
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  Speaker 2: the game to say, having spent this week game planning
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  Speaker 2: and you get all these great ideas about what you
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  Speaker 2: want to do. And I think sometimes, and, you know,
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  Speaker 2: I think Davis, Davis wedge, a first year play caller,
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  Speaker 2: sometimes you call the game. You sort of always wanted
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  Speaker 2: to call instead of the one for the team in
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  Speaker 2: front of you. And I think they're more apt to
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  Speaker 2: do that. You know, whether it's Sean Payton or, scowling
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  Speaker 2: down at him, you know, with the, I better see
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  Speaker 2: some run, some runs here on the next possession or,
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  Speaker 2: or just the, the nature of the game, you know,
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  Speaker 2: you're behind, things are going poorly. You, you move toward
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  Speaker 2: what you're good at. And I think if they would
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  Speaker 2: do that sooner, it would look better. But you know,
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  Speaker 2: that old, principle or the solution might be the most
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  Speaker 2: simple one is sometimes hard to get to.
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  Speaker 1: Jeff Legwald brought to you by the International Brotherhood of
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  Speaker 1: Electrical Workers, IBEW Local 68. You start with a job,
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  Speaker 1: you end with a career. You know, Jeff, it feels
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  Speaker 1: as though we wring hands over the Broncos offense every
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  Speaker 1: single week, but let's go looking at the other side
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  Speaker 1: right now because this is the heavyweight matchup that everybody
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  Speaker 1: wants to see. Kyle Shanahan and this Niners offense going
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  Speaker 1: up against Vijay and this Broncos defense. As you look
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  Speaker 1: at this matchup, Jeff, of the best offense in the
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  Speaker 1: league against, and we know how good Denver's defense is,
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  Speaker 1: where does San Francisco have the advantages? Where does Denver
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  Speaker 1: have the advantages as they go head-to-head?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, I think knowing the people involved with
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  Speaker 2: the 49ers, the they're going to come after the Bronco linebackers,
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  Speaker 2: you know, whether that's with Kittle, McCaffrey, you know, Debo,
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  Speaker 2: you know, however they do it, I would guess they're
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  Speaker 2: looking to isolate Bronco linebackers in coverage. So I would
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  Speaker 2: expect the Broncos in some way to try to respond with,
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  Speaker 2: with maybe a big nickel formation. You know, I I'm,
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  Speaker 2: I'm certain they may toss out a, a, a, I'm
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  Speaker 2: not certain, but knowing everybody and how they call things,
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  Speaker 2: I would expect to see a 4-4 at times on defense,
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  Speaker 2: which they haven't used too many snaps this year because
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  Speaker 2: you just got to muscle up against the 49ers and
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  Speaker 2: somehow keep enough speed on the field to deal with
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  Speaker 2: what they have because that's where they challenge you. They
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  Speaker 2: try to put your bigger people in bad spots and
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  Speaker 2: are very good at doing it. And I think that's
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  Speaker 2: their advantage because that's been a trouble spot for the Broncos. And,
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  Speaker 2: you know, Kittle has done plenty of damage, you know,
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  Speaker 2: including the 200-yard receiving game, you know, when DJ was
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  Speaker 2: the head coach. So that's their advantage. But the Broncos
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  Speaker 2: will be the first team that truly pressures Brock Purdy.
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  Speaker 2: they've gotten not a free pass because I do not
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  Speaker 2: want to cheapen how Purdy is playing. He's at an
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  Speaker 2: MVP level. And I think this notion of, can we
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  Speaker 2: just stop arguing about whether he's a good quarterback or not?
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  Speaker 2: The guy is a really good quarterback. He's playing better
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  Speaker 2: than any other quarterback in the league right now, say
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  Speaker 2: for Josh Allen, maybe in Lamar. But that's the company
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  Speaker 2: he's in. Let's just get over the fact he was
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  Speaker 2: late in the draft and move on. But that said,
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  Speaker 2: I've looked at the Niners games this year, and I've
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  Speaker 2: charted them, and he has remained clean. He's not been
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  Speaker 2: sacked because he's not been pressured even very often. And
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  Speaker 2: I think that will be a difference. And the Niners
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  Speaker 2: offense will have to respond to that. They're going to
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  Speaker 2: have to leave more people in than they want to
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  Speaker 2: And that removes somebody from the pattern. So, I mean,
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  Speaker 2: I think that's the chess match I would be watching
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  Speaker 2: is how often do the 49ers have to leave extra
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  Speaker 2: people in and how often do the Broncos have to
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  Speaker 2: rush extra people? Because those are going to be the
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  Speaker 2: downs that probably matter.
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  Speaker 1: Jeff, you talked about Brock Purdy right there. And, you know,
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  Speaker 1: you go way back with Kyle Shanahan. Why has Brock Purdy...
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  Speaker 1: been the perfect Kyle Shanahan quarterback?
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  Speaker 2: Part of it is Kyle, like his dad, knew what
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  Speaker 2: he wanted in a quarterback. It's not some mystical skill
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  Speaker 2: set he's looking for. It's a very defined profile that
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  Speaker 2: they're looking for. I think sometimes in the public domain
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  Speaker 2: before the draft, people look at quarterbacks from the arm
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  Speaker 2: end and That's just not how to do it. I
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  Speaker 2: know it's entertaining. And I know those throws at pro
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  Speaker 2: day with no defense on the field anywhere, you know,
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  Speaker 2: are just amazing to people. And sometimes they are amazing,
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  Speaker 2: but it doesn't have a lot to do with how
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  Speaker 2: you play quarterback. And, you know, he's looking for processors,
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  Speaker 2: guys who can sift through the information and Find the
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  Speaker 2: right people and throw a tight window throw. Because if
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  Speaker 2: you can't throw in a tight window in the NFL,
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  Speaker 2: people are always going to ask you why you haven't
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  Speaker 2: lived up to your draft standing or whatever. Because that
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  Speaker 2: is everything. Accuracy is everything. And he leads the league
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  Speaker 2: by a fairly wide margin right now in least off-target
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  Speaker 2: attempts this year. He puts the ball... where it belongs.
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  Speaker 2: He's at like 4%, which is ridiculous. I think that
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  Speaker 2: number is right. I don't have it right in front
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  Speaker 2: of me, but i uh he's he's several percentage points
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  Speaker 2: ahead of the next person and that's that's really a
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  Speaker 2: a metric that you should pay attention to because that's
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  Speaker 2: what matters are you putting the ball on target and
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  Speaker 2: he does better than anybody right now and that's why
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  Speaker 2: he hasn't been sacked and that's why he leads the
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  Speaker 2: league and and uh you know, all of the passing
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  Speaker 2: metrics people care about for the most part, the second
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  Speaker 2: and completion percentage. So, but that's, that's, that's why he
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  Speaker 2: fits because he can work through the equation quickly and
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  Speaker 2: get to the right answer in real time. And he
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  Speaker 2: recognizes pressure before the snap and the best quarterbacks, find
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  Speaker 2: the pressure, even disguised, you know, before the snap and
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  Speaker 2: the ones who struggle do not. And he's got all
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  Speaker 2: of those traits. All right.
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  Speaker 3: It's funny because it's not my question, but they're just
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  Speaker 3: pointing out NFL live. Brock Purdy's got the best QBR
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  Speaker 3: through three games since 2006. And that include guys like
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  Speaker 3: Josh Allen and Peyton Manning in the run in those games.
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  Speaker 3: So he's playing as well.
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  Speaker 2: As you thought.
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  Speaker 3: Okay. So an interesting comparison between, that we had on
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  Speaker 3: the station from Niners Radio out there in the Bay Area, Jeff,
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  Speaker 3: where the analysts were saying, the talk shows were talking
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  Speaker 3: about how Brock Purdy, and this goes to some of
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  Speaker 3: what you talked about, learned how to play quarterback first
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  Speaker 3: and is using some of his athleticism now. They said
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  Speaker 3: they think Bo Nix has been using his athleticism first
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  Speaker 3: and now needs to learn better how to play quarterback.
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  Speaker 3: Would you agree with that assessment? What would that mean
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  Speaker 3: in your mind for Bo as far as progression?
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  Speaker 2: You know, Andy, I think that's always the case for–
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  Speaker 2: any quarterback who moves from college to the NFL who
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  Speaker 2: had any kind of mobility, they lean on it often
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  Speaker 2: because they can. And the level of mobility to be
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  Speaker 2: considered successfully mobile in college, the bar is far lower
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  Speaker 2: than it is in the NFL. So you have more
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  Speaker 2: guys leading on that crutch than they should when they
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  Speaker 2: come to the league because they've gotten away with it.
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  Speaker 2: The other issue is a tight window in college is
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  Speaker 2: like a three-yard opening. And a tight window in the
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  Speaker 2: NFL is basically the distance from your elbow to the
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  Speaker 2: tip of your middle finger. That's open in the NFL
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  Speaker 2: in a tight window situation. And those are the ones
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  Speaker 2: where the development comes. And Bo's tight window metrics aren't spectacular.
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  Speaker 2: And he's still working against how it looks against pressure
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  Speaker 2: and all of those things. But he's in the third
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  Speaker 2: year and he was thrown in the deep end immediately.
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  Speaker 2: So you can't deny the winning percentage for Bo, but
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  Speaker 2: he's He's not as advanced in processing the information and
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  Speaker 2: what it all looks like than some other guys in
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  Speaker 2: the league. And that is, like any guy going through
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  Speaker 2: his fourth, fifth, sixth years as a starter, as Nick's will,
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  Speaker 2: that's their hurdle is remembering all the information you've already gathered.
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  Speaker 2: You've already faced. You face some of these coordinators. You
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  Speaker 2: face some of these teams. You face some of these defenses.
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  Speaker 2: You know, what did you take away and what can
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  Speaker 2: you apply in the future?
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  Speaker 1: Hey, Jeff, one more thing before we get you out
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  Speaker 1: of here. It's funny. You covered Mike Shanahan forever and
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  Speaker 1: his kid is 3-0. You covered Gary Kubiak forever and
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  Speaker 1: his kid is 3-0. What is Clint Kubiak doing right
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  Speaker 1: now with these Raiders, and what is sustainable over the
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  Speaker 1: long haul when their schedule heats up, especially this week
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  Speaker 1: against Kansas City?
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, Clint can't control the talent level of
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  Speaker 2: his team. In your first year, you're just trying to
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  Speaker 2: cobble it together the best you can. In my opinion,
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  Speaker 2: the best thing they've done is not throw the quarterback
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  Speaker 2: in right away.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: They have a mature enough guy in Mendoza who can
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  Speaker 2: deal with that. He's not like your average rookie quarterback mentally.
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  Speaker 2: He's ready for the whole process of it. And they've
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  Speaker 2: obviously done a good job of preparing him for that.
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  Speaker 2: And maybe having the most Super Bowl winning quarterback ever
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  Speaker 2: in the ownership group helps with that. But I think
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  Speaker 2: Clint has been very good at being like, as his
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  Speaker 2: dad was, his dad's superpower was being straight up with
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  Speaker 2: players in every situation and never embarrassing them in public,
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  Speaker 2: but still being critical and asking them to be accountable.
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  Speaker 2: That's a fine line. A lot of guys can't walk,
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  Speaker 2: but Clint can walk it because he's seen it and
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  Speaker 2: he just knows how to deal with people. And, you know,
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  Speaker 2: probably he's been himself. He hasn't tried to be something
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  Speaker 2: else as a head coach. He has been who I've
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  Speaker 2: seen him be when he was a position coach or
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  Speaker 2: a quality control guy or a quarterback coach. He's coaching
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  Speaker 2: the way, you know, who he is. And not everybody
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  Speaker 2: does that when they become a head coach. You can
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  Speaker 2: never underestimate the lure of trying to suddenly inflate yourself
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  Speaker 2: into the new job. And he doesn't do that.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's absolutely critical, and it's working. Also helps to
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  Speaker 1: get Brock Bowers back and healthy. But, yeah, Raiders teams
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  Speaker 1: and Broncos Niners, yeah, pretty good. Both in the afternoon
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  Speaker 1: window coming up on Sunday. He's Jeff Legwald. Go to ESPN.com
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  Speaker 1: and read Jeff Legwald's Broncos coverage. Leggy, great stuff, man.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you, guys.
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  Speaker 1: That's right. We talked to you. It's at a Bud
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  Speaker 1: Light football Friday. We talked to Jeff Legwald on all
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  Speaker 1: of those.